Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman gave a major boost to Pakistan’s efforts in strengthening its forex reserves, amid worsening currency crises.
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia has ordered a study to increase Saudi investments in Pakistan to $10 billion, building upon previous investments announced on August 25, 2022.
Now, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has instructed that the Kingdom’s investments in Pakistan be increased to $10 billion. He also directed the SFD to investigate increasing Saudi deposits to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to $5 billion.
Last month, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) extended the term for the $3 billion deposit in the State Bank of Pakistan. This was due to mature on December 5, 2022.
In November 2022, the SBP signed an agreement to receive $3 billion from the SFD. This money will be put into the central bank’s account with the aim of increasing its foreign currency reserves.
According to Saudi Press Agency’s report, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman directed the SDF today to increase the amount of the deposit that was previously extended on December 2, 2022, to reach a $5 billion ceiling. This confirms the kingdom’s support for Pakistan’s economy and its people.
This came within the framework of the existing communication between HRH the Crown Prince and Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan.
This announcement comes one day after Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir met with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman during his first official overseas visit.Â
Due to the collapse of its forex reserves to $4.5 billion, Pakistan now faces a currency crisis. This is barely enough to import three weeks’ worth of food and other necessities.
Islamabad, on the other hand, is putting in a lot of effort to revive the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program that has been stalled for several months.
